Everton are considering a swoop for Sheffield United's rising star Daniel Jebbison, with manager Sean Dyche seeking to bolster his attacking ranks and chart a course up the Premier League table this season.
Who are Everton going to sign this summer?
While the Toffees endured a quiet start to the transfer window, astute purchases for Ashley Young on a free transfer and Arnaut Danjuma on loan have set the ball in motion, and Jebbison could be next.
According to the Liverpool Echo, the 20-year-old striker has been the subject of an enquiry from the Merseyside outfit already this summer, with Everton looking to act upon their long-standing interest in the Blades ace.
While Jebbison would not be considered the talismanic saviour to pump life back into the Everton attack instantaneously, he could be the perfect utility option and one to grow into a first-rate star at the club over the coming years.
Who is Daniel Jebbison?
Scoring twice from 19 matches last term, also registering one assist, Jebbison played a peripheral role in a triumphant campaign for the Blades, who completed their return to the Premier League after a second-place finish.
He has actually already once plied his trade in the English top-flight, making his debut against Everton in May 2021 and being hailed as his side's "shining light" by Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards as his side ignominiously crashed out of the division.
He has already completed a loan transfer away from Bramall Lane and caught the eye on loan at Burton Albion in 2021/22, where he scored seven goals from just 14 starts in League One and averaged 1.9 shots per game.
While this exciting talent cannot be expected to lead the Evertonian line at such a rudimentary stage in his career, he could hardly do much worse than Neal Maupay, and Dyche must seriously consider ousting the Frenchman for someone of Jebbison's ilk, who can grow into his skin and absorb the fruits of a starring talisman, such as Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Maupay arrived from Brighton & Hove Albion one year ago on a £15m deal after plundering 24 Premier League goals across three seasons, but to say he flattered to deceive on Merseyside would be an understatement.
Once branded "embarrassing" by Alan Shearer, the 26-year-old scored just one goal from 27 top-flight showings last term, exacerbating the club's issues in front of goal that so nearly cost them their place among England's elite.
The £50k-per-week attacker was also called "woeful" by journalist Paul Brown, who criticised his "disaster" of a transfer, leaving question marks surrounding his future under Dyche's wing.
While his past exploits on English shores are evidence that he can find the back of the net with some sort of regularity, the magnitude of the task in preserving Premier League status once again and, crucially, navigating away from the danger area after successive relegation-battling terms, underlines the importance that the club get it right.
And while Jebbison will not produce numbers to rival the likes of Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah at the forefront of the league's offensive stars, he may just be a budding sensation, and with Everton yearning for a new figurehead to send them into rapture, the Sheffield United striker could just be the man to mould into a first-rate phenom.